Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1887-09-01

origin, the counting that ensued was uni
form in its qualities. 1t was a long and
tedious process.
After she had responded affirmatively
a few times to his timid MAY / see you
homer" from some gatherings, he would
make an appearance at her house some
Sunday evening soon after dark.
This first call was tentative one, and
full of emparrassments. He was not ex-
actly certain as to his welcome. The old
folks sat around and discussed the days
preaching, and pretended not to under
stand what he was after; she was pr1m
and silent, and scarcely looked at him.
It came 9 o'clock and the old man
guessed he'd go to rest, as they must
be up in the molnin' to commence break
in up that piece of Sod" and thereupon
he would pull off his shoes, scratch his
heels and his head and then with tre-
mendous yawn march into the bedroom.
Then the old woman would become
Iovuacious and would inquire about the
condition of the heifer with leaked"
udders, the number of pigs in the latest
litter, the complaint of his mother and
what she would recommend her to take
viz: DR.. Allspoons Universal Resurrec
tor which she has been told of by a cousin
of her mothers aunt who'd been at the
point of death and given up by the doc
tors and was now IN perfect health after
taking only twelve dozen bottles of this
medicine which was all roots and YARDS,
and discovered by missionary among
the Ingens and didn't have particle of
calomel or any other pizen minerals.
At length the old lady would become
sleepy, and suddenly bethinking herself
4 H. Io cHn
would follow the old man into the bed,
room.
The room is lighted by e tallow candle,
which does little more than reveal the den
sity of the darkness. She is seated in the
rocking chair on one side of the room; he
is in a chair on the opposite side, tipped
back so that his head rests against the
wall. For ten minutes there is dead
silence. He meanwhile hens, as if clear
ing his throat preparatory to saying some
thing, and he glances up shylY as If to
hear what he is about to remark.
Finally he chokes out:
''Do you think we're goin to have some
rain?"
81 dunno. 1t looks like it, don't it"
II guess it does. Corn needs rain bad"
And here comes another period of 81
lence. E1nally she ventures:
"What'd you think of the sermon TO-
day?"
"Good; want it? Lemme see, where
was the text?"
at was in So and SO. How did it go?
And He spake'-I can't remember, I'll
look it up"
''And then she gets the Bible and hunts
the text by the dim light of candle, and
he, in order to verify her rendering,
takes hold of tie Bible and looks at the
print, and in doing so his head comes in
contact with hers.
All this is preliminary to the real work
of counting. 1t may take month of Sun
days before the bashfulness wears of,
and they begin to understand each other.
By and by the real counting begins. Then
they sit side by side in contiguous chairs
his right arm is around her waist, her
left arm entwines him, and her head rests
on his shoulder. Sometimes there is a
Bible on their laps, and together in uni
son they read the sacred word. Now and
then their disengaged hands meet and
clasp above the book.
The process is known as Setting up"
with girl. Country etiquette demand
ed that it must continue all the ive-long
night till dawn began to paint the eastern
sky. Sometimes one or the other dozed
and slumbered for few moments, trust
ingly leaning on the other. Silence was
the rule and was rarely broken, save by
tender little inquiries, such as: SIS 90
tumfertable, little derry?"
"Ess, Use tumfertable, sweetie.'
Thus they sit, side by side, all through
the too short hours of night, cheek
against cheek, until day frightens him,
and with a score of lingering, convulsive
embraces, he sneaks away.
Sneak is the word. He must avoid
observation. If recognized and his mis-
sion known, he becomes the but of all
the stale wit and the object of all the
clumsy buffoonery of the community. He
goes direct to bis daily task without rest.
It is day of interminable hours which
follows night of Setting up;" hours
hours when the tendency to sleep is over
powerirg and when the western shadows
of the SIN are welcome with open arms
and a grateful heart.
The day of the marriage would be con-
cealed to the last possible moment to
avoid ridicule. The wedding wonld be a
quiet affair. A few intimate friends would
be invited, and the sermony would be
performed Dy the ACKNOWLEDGEMENT minis
ter, and consisted mainly in a sermon of
half hour in length and prayer of
equal duration.
A good deal of horse-play would often
follow the wedding ceremony. To I'M
dress the bride, or ''to put the bride to
bed" was one of the amusements of the
occasion. She was accompanied TO the
nuptual chamber by the other married
women present, who disrobed her and
placed her in bed, the while inf1icting on
her such suggestions and whitticisns as
the occasion suggested. A little later the
masculine element had its turn. The
bridegroom was accompanied to the bed
chamber by his roaring friends and
showed, with many jokes, mysterious in
nenduds, and quaint suggestions through
the door CT the room. little later, as
likely as not, the room would be invaded
by the guests, and the couple would be
subjected to another course of hilarious
torture.
Now and then some of the neighbors,
not invited to the wedding, would impro-
wise serenade known as "horning" or
''shivaree," and which consisted in getting
in front of the house, hammering tin pans,
blowing tin dinner horns and the playing